Gary Garland / the japanese insider

September 15, 2002

Matsui Homer Welcomes Him to Select Club in Seibu Victory

     Seibu Lions shortstop Kazuo Matsui celebrated his 1000th career game Sunday at Osaka Dome by drilling his 30th homer, which also makes him just the eighth player in Japanese history, but the first switch hitter, to hit .300 with 30 steals and the same number of dingers. The last one was Hiroshima outfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto in 2000. More importantly for the Lions, though, they won it 5-1 to move one step closer to the Pacific League pennant.

     Takashi Ishii started for Seibu and was mugged for ten hits, but he held firm and permitted only a ninth inning run for his sixth victory.

     Daisuke Miyamoto started for Kintetsu and was shafted for five runs on six hits in four innings to drop to 1-3 on the season.

     The Lions took a 1-0 lead in the third when catcher Satoshi Nakajima singled to right with one down and second baseman Hiroshi Hirao walked. Matsui pancaked a double off the rightfield wall to convert Nakajima and Seibu never looked back.

     In the fourth, Lions first baseman Alex Cabrera walked and DH Kazuhiro Wada mashed a 1-1 shuuto on the inner half beyond the leftfield wall to make it 3-0.

     Matsui then etched his name in the record book in front of 20 relatives sitting in the stands, including his wife Mio and infant daughter Haruna, when he piggybacked on a leadoff single to center by Hirao by mortaring an 88mph fastball on the inside part of the plate and mortared it into the leftcenterfield seats for a 5-1 Lions advantage. Furthermore, it also marked the first time that Seibu has had three 30 homer men on their team in a season since 1992, when Orestes Destrade (now retired), Kazuhiro Kiyohara (who is with Yomiuri) and Koji Akiyama (who just retired) exceeded that mark.

     The lone Buffs tally came in their final at bat, when rightfielder Koichi Isobe leadoff with a double down the rightfield line, moved to third on a deep fly ball, and scored on a groundout to second. Ishii then induced another groundout and it was over.

     Matsui, who was 4-5 and only a triple short of the cycle in this one, tends, for some reason, to do a lot of memorable things in Osaka. His first game as a pro was at Fujiidera Stadium, the Buffs previous homeground. He went yard at Osaka Dome for his 100th lifetime longball as well as set the PL consecutive games record there. He collects watches, so his wife said that she will buy him another one to celebrate the big homer. Incidently, this was his 17th game with three hits or more in 2002. There is still speculation that he is going to ask to be posted this offseason, the first report about this issue I've seen all season. Dodgers fans, you know what to do.

     For Seibu, Cabrera was 0-3 with two walks and is at .331. He leads the circuit with 90 freebies. Third baseman Scott McClain was 1-3 with two strikeouts and is at .268.

     For Kintetsu, leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes was 2-4 and is at .267.

Pitching Lines:

Seibu:

Takashi Ishii (W, 6-3) IP 9.0 PC 124 H 10 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.36

Kintetsu:

D. Miyamoto (L, 1-3) IP 4.0 PC 79 H 6 HR 2 K 6 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 4.75
S. Yamamoto              IP 0.1 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.38
Kadokura                   IP 2.2 PC 44 H 2 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.43
T. Yoshida                 IP 1.0 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.45
Misawa                      IP 1.0 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.81

SB: K. Matsui, H. Takagi
2B: K. Matsui, Yoshioka, Rhodes, Isobe
HR: Wada (30), K. Matsui (30)
RBI: K. Matsui 3, Wada 2
IBB: Cabrera
GIDP: Rhodes, Yoshioka, Nakajima

Season Series: Seibu 15, Kintetsu 12

Game Time: 3:17
Attendance: 28,000
Umpires: Yamamura (HP), Yamamoto (1B), Kawaguchi (2B), Nagami (3B)

Akahoshi Two Run Single in Ninth Disappoints Uehara, Giants

     Hanshin Tigers centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi rammed a forkball back up through the middle in the top of the ninth inning with the bases loaded and the score tied for a game winning single and a 3-2 Tigers victory over the Yomiuri Giants Sunday at Tokyo Dome. Furthermore, it ended an 11 game winning streak by Yomiuri starter Koji Uehara, who went 8.2 innings in defeat.

     Tetsuro Kawajiri  started for Hanshin and had another strong outing, as he tossed six innings of two run ball on six hits, though he didn't figure in the decision. Instead, reliever Masashi Date went 1.2 scoreless innings, the only runner coming on a catcher's interference call with Daisuke Motoki at the plate in the seventh, to claim his first triumph of the year.

     Hanshin shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto got his team off the launching pad with one out in the first, as he took Uehara over the rightcenterfield wall for his first homer of the season and a 1-0 Tigers lead.

     Yomiuri first baseman Koji Goto, however, responded with a two out drive into the rightfield bleachers in the second and gridlocked it at 1-1.

     Goto then put his side up in the fifth with a leadoff single to center and went to second on a single to left by third baseman Mototsugu Kawanaka before advancing to third on a groundout, after which he was squeezed home by Uehara to make it 2-1 Giants.

     But in the ninth, Tigers first baseman George Arias beat out a dribbler toward third. One out later, second baseman Taichiro Kamisaka singled to left. Uehara threw an 87mph fastball to pinch hitter Kentaro Sekimoto, and he pinged it to left. Arias went to round third to go home, but he tripped over Giants third baseman Masahiro Kawai and had to scramble back to the bag while leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu gunned a one hop strike to the plate. Hanshin manager Senichi Hoshino ran out and argued that Kawai purposely obstructed Arias and should be awarded home, but umpire Kobayashi retorted that Arias would have been out at home and therefore no extra base should be awarded. Indeed, under Japanese baseball rules, the umpires are given discretion in how they decide if a runner gets to advance in these cases. Hoshino pressed Kobayashi for eight minutes, but it was doing him no good, so he stalked off back to the dugout. Pinch hitter Yoshihiro Okihara struckout for the second out and that brought up Akahoshi, who stroked that forkball off his shoetops and banged it into centerfield to make it 3-2 Hanshin.

     Mark Valdez was summoned from the bullpen by Hoshino for the bottom of the ninth and he swept the Giants hitters away in nine pitches for his 20th save.

     When Kawai was asked by reporters after the game whether he purposely tripped Arias, he laughed and said, "I'll leave that up to your imaginations."

     Godzilla Matsui is in a slump right now, has he is two for his last 17 and hasn't gone deep in six games.

     Hanshin's minor league team won its second consecutive title. Count on seeing a lot of those faces with the big club in 2003.

     For Hanshin, Arias was 2-4 and is at .253.

Pitching Lines:

Hanshin:

Kawajiri                     IP 6.0 PC 79 H 6 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.66
T.H. Hashimoto       IP 0.1 PC   6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 19.64
Date (W, 1-2)           IP 1.2 PC 29 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.11
M. Valdez (S, 20)     IP 1.0 PC   9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.72

Yomiuri:

Uehara (L, 16-4)    IP 8.2 PC 121 H 11 HR 1 K 6 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.61
Okajima                  IP 0.1 PC     5 H  0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.59

E: Nakatani
SB: Akahoshi
2B: Kamisaka
HR: Fujimoto (1), K. Goto (1)
RBI: Akahoshi 2, Fujimoto, K. Goto, Uehara
Catcher's Interference: K. Yamada
GIDP: Takayuki Saito

Season Series: Hanshin 9, Yomiuri 14 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:08
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Tomoyori (HP), Kamimoto (1B), Manabe (2B), T. Kobayashi (3B)

Omichi's Four RBIs Leads 11-4 Daiei Rout of Lotte

     Daiei Hawks DH Noriyoshi Omichi lashed a pair of two run doubles and third baseman Hiroki Kokubo crushed a two run homer, his 28th long distance runaround of 2002, as the birds of prey steamrollered the Chiba Lotte Marines Sunday at Fukuoka Dome 11-4. Junji Hoshino cadged his ninth win of the season despite giving up four runs in five innings. Runs support is a good thing, no?

     Kosuke Kato started for Lotte and he was stomped for four runs in one inning and then reliever Ken Yamasaki was ambushed for another five in two innings to nudge both of their ERAs over 5.00.

     Lotte had an ephemeral lead in the first when centerfielder Saburo Omura walked with one out and DH Frank Bolick singled to right with two outs. Leftfielder Derrick May singled to center to plate Omura and it was 1-0.

     The Hawks erased that in short order in the home half, however. Centerfielder Yudai Deguchi and rightfielder Motoi Okoshi walked. The runners moved up on a groundout to first and then with Kokubo at the plate, Kato threw one past catcher Masaumi Shimizu and it was tied at 1-1. Kokubo walked. One out later, Catcher Kenji Johjima singled to center to usher in Okoshi. Omichi then dug in and flayed one down the leftfield line for a double that scored both Kokubo and Johjima to make it 4-1 Daiei.

     When the Daiei lineup prepared to come up in the second, Yamasaki was on the hill, but they waited until the third before they teed off on him. With one away, Kokubo whizzed a double into the leftfield corner. First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka walked. Johjima singled to left and Kokubo checked in. Omichi unleashed another two bagger into the leftcenter alley and Matsunaka and Johjima crossed for a 7-1 advantage. Shortstop Yusuke Torigoe singled to center to redeem Omichi. Torigoe went to second on a groundout. Deguchi singled to left and Torigoe sped in and it was 9-1 Hawks.

     Lotte did Hoshino up for two more runs in the fourth to at least make themselves look respectable. May leadoff with a walk. Second baseman Koichi Hori outran a bouncer toward short. One out later, Shimizu singled to right to pack the sacks. Shortstop Makoto Kosaka struckout. Rightfielder Kenji Morozumi singled to right to drive in both Hori and May and it was 9-3 Hawks.

     Daiei reacted with a pair in their ups, as leftfielder Pedro Valdez singled to right and Kokubo applied some thunder to a Junji Kuroki slider and hurtled it into the leftcenterfield bleachers and it was 11-3.

     Lotte struck back for a tally in the fifth when first baseman Kazuya Fukuura clubbed a double to rightcenter and, two outs later, Hori singled to center to make it 11-4.

     Daiei loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom segment on two walks and a double to rightcenter by Okoshi, but Kuroki struckout Matsunaka to keep it from becoming really humilating for Lotte.

     For all practical purposes, the game was over at that point, as neither side put anything together the final three innings and the Hawks cruised to the 11-4 win.

     For Daiei, Valdez was 1-3 with a walk and is at .307.

     For Lotte, Bolick was 1-4 and is at .209. May was 1-3 with two RBIs and a walk and is at .263.

Pitching Lines:

Lotte:

K. Kato (L, 8-13)   IP 1.0 PC 32 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 3 R 4 ER 4 ERA 5.27
K. Yamasaki          IP 2.0 PC 48 H 6 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 5.00
J. Kuroki                IP 4.0 PC 77 H 5 HR 1 K 3 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.26
A. Yoshida           IP 1.0 PC   6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.26

Daiei:

J. Hoshino (W, 9-7) IP 5.0 PC 84 H 8 HR 0 K 4 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.67
Shinohara                 IP 2.0 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.60
M. Sato                     IP 2.0 PC 25 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

2B: Omichi 2, Kokubo, Fukuura, Okoshi, S. Omura
HR: Kokubo (28)
RBI: Morozumi 2, May 2, Deguchi, Kokubo 2, Johjima 2, Omichi 4, Torigoe
HBP: Kokubo (J. Kuroki)
WP: K. Kato
GIDP: T. Tsuji

Season Series: Lotte 10, Daiei 17

Game Time: 3:04
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Iizuka (HP), Higashi (1B), Yoshikawa (2B), Tamba (3B)

Yakult Frustrated Again in 3-3 Tie with Yokohama

     Yakult Swallows fans can sympathize with the Seattle Mariners, who went to Texas and got swept four straight. Why? Because the Tokyoites played a three game series with the worst team in Japaness pro ball right now, the Yokohama Bay Stars,  and came away without a victory, as they lost the first two and emerged with only a tie in the last tilt of the series Sunday at Yokohama Stadium 3-3.

     Shugo Fujii started for the Swallows and wasn't able to defend a 3-2 sixth inning lead, as he was responsible for all three Yokohama runs before giving way to his team's relievers.

     Yuji Hata, the Stars 2001 number one draft choice, made his first pro start and was adequate, going six innings of three run ball on seven hits, striking out seven and walking two to make it particularly galling for Yakult.

     Yakult seized a lead in the first when centerfielder Mitsuru Manaka began the game with a single to center and went to second on a sacrifice. One out later, first baseman Roberto Petagine walked. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez singled to left to catapult Manaka home and it was 1-0 Swallows.

     Yokohama neutralized that in the third, as third baseman Makoto Fukumoto singled to right with one out and second baseman Hitoshi Taneda walked. Leftfielder Takanori Suzuki singled right and Fukumoto strutted in and it was 1-1.

     Petagine, however, leadoff the fourth with a shot into the leftfield bleachers and the Swallows had a 2-1 advantage.

     The Stars chased Yakult down again in the bottom of the inning when catcher Ryoji Aikawa singled to left and was sacrificed to second. Shortstop Takuro Ishii then played jai lai with the centerfield wall for an RBI double and it was even at 2-2.

     Yakult surged back out in front in the fifth when shortstop Yoshiyuki Noguchi slammed a one out shot off the leftfield wall for a double and went to third on a groundout. Petagine singled to right to get Noguchi in and it was 3-2 Swallows.

     Fujii then got two quick outs in the sixth, but couldn't go any further than that before he had to be bailed out. Pinch hitter Masaki Koike singled to left  and stole second. Ishii walked. Swallows manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu went to the bullpen for righthander Ryota Igarashi, who was greeted with a double down the rightfield line by pinch hitter Katsuaki Furuki that scored Koike and made it 3-3. Igarashi then struckout Taneda and that was the last offense of the game until a Yakult uprising in the tenth.

     With Atsushi Kizuka pitching, Noguchi leadoff with a single to center and, one out later, Petagine singled to left. Ramirez hit a ball close to the line and Noguchi tried to score, but Suzuki made a strong throw and Noguchi was out. Third baseman Akinori Iwamura walked to load the bases. Catcher Atsuya Furuta flied out to center and that was that.

     In the bottom of the inning, Yokohama had something going until backup centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo's baserunning mistake killed it. Kinjo singled to center and, one out later, was sacrificed to second. Aikawa legged out a taper toward short. However, Kinjo made too wide a turn and he was tagged out in a rundown.

     Yakult had a two on, one out opportunity in the 11th, but Noguchi grounded into a 6-4-3 twin killing and that was it, as nobody else reached base before the game was called.

     For Yokohama, rightfielder Boi Rodrigues was 1-5 with a steal and is at .267. Centerfielder Ernie Young struckout all three times he batted and is at .173.

     For Yakult, Petagine was 3-5 with two RBIs and a walk and is at .325. Ramirez was 2-6 with an RBI and is at .298.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

S. Fujii                IP 5.2 PC 113 H 7 HR 0 K 6 BB 4 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.86
R. Igarashi         IP 2.1 PC  47 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.95
H. Ishii               IP 2.0 PC  21 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.63
Kawabata          IP 1.0 PC  10 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.16
Takatsu             IP 1.0 PC  15 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.13

Yokohama:

Hata                          IP 6.0 PC 90 H 7 HR 1 K 7 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.86
Morinaka                 IP 2.0 PC 29 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.59
Kizuka                      IP 1.2 PC 26 H 4 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.05
R. Kawahara           IP 0.0 PC   5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.68
Fukumori                 IP 1.1 PC   9 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.19
Takashi Saito          IP 1.0 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.93

SB: Koike, Rodrigues
2B: Iwamura, T. Ishii, Y. Noguchi, Furuki
HR: Petagine (38)
RBI: T. Ishii, Furuki, T. Suzuki, Petagine 2, Ramirez
IBB: Manaka
HBP: Noguchi

Season Series: Yakult 15, Yokohama 9 1 Tie

Game Time: 4:33
Attendance: 26,000
Umpires: Shikida (HP), Watada (1B), Suginaga (2B), Tani (3B)

Tanaka Uses Wheels in Tenth Inning and Wins it for Nippon Ham

     Nippon Ham Fighters second baseman Ken Tanaka got the drop on Orix Blue Wave first baseman Scott Sheldon, as he never stopped running on an infield hit by shortstop Hiroshi Narahara and scored from second in the top of the tenth to beat the Hyogo Prefecture outfit 3-2 Sunday at Kobe Green Stadium. Tanaka had reached on an infield hit and then stolen second to set up the opportunity to win the match.

     Nippon Ham used some muscle in the second to achieve a lead, as third baseman Yukio Tanaka thwacked a pitch from Orix starter Satoshi Tokumoto into the leftfield bleachers to make it 1-0 Fighters.

     But Orix used some sock to overcome that in the fourth when centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani walked and Sheldon blasted an offering from Nippon Ham starter Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi into the leftfield seats and it was suddenly 2-1 home team.

     Nippon Ham pulled alongside of Orix, however, in the fifth when catcher Toshihiro Noguchi singled to right and somehow got to third, from where he scored on a sac fly by centerfielder Tatsuya Ide to tie it at 2-2.

     Orix loaded the bases on three two out walks in the eighth, but third baseman Tatsuya Shindo fouled out to miss that opportunity.

     The game went into the tenth and with two down, Ken Tanaka bounced a ball toward short, but beat the throw to first. He stole second. Narahara then tapped a roller toward third. Shindo, a multiple Gold Glove winner, got to the ball and whipped it to first, where, in a photo finish, the umpire judged Narahara to be safe. Before anyone noticed, Tanaka had rounded third and was making a beeline for the plate, managing to score without a throw while Orix manager Hiromichi Ishige jumped out of the dugout and went after first base umpire Kakigizono. He aired Kakigizono out for about two minutes before heading back to the dugout, his pleas having fallen on deaf ears.

     Yoshinori Tateyama, who had entered the game with two outs in the ninth, was now charged with securing a win and he did, working a perfect inning to turn out the lights.

     For Orix, Sheldon was 2-4 with two RBIs and a walk and is at .263.

     For Nippon Ham, DH Sherman Obando was 0-4 and is at .260. Leftfielder D.T. Cromer was 1-4 and is at .253.

Pitching Lines:

Nippon Ham:

Shimoyanagi            IP 6.0 PC 71 H 5 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 6.40
Iba                             IP 1.0 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.79
Flury                          IP 1.0 PC 31 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 3 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.00
A. Shimizu                IP 0.2 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.97
Tateyama (W, 3-2)  IP 1.1 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.31

Orix:

Tokumoto                   IP 7.2 PC 118 H 6 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 2 ER 1 ERA 2.97
T. Yamamoto              IP 0.1 PC     3 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.00
Kawagoe (L, 3-12)     IP 1.2 PC   29 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.10
Kase                            IP 0.1 PC     3 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.71

E: Akune
SB: Ken Tanaka, Tani 2
2B: M. Ogasawara, Hidaka
HR: Y. Tanaka (14), Sheldon (21)
RBI: Narahara, Y. Tanaka, Ide, Sheldon 2
SF: Ide
IBB: Sheldon

Season Series: Nippon Ham 15, Orix 9 2 Ties

Game Time: 3:22
Attendance: 20,000
Umpires: Shirai (HP), Kakigizono (1B), Hayashi (2B), Tachibana (3B)

Fukudome Slam, Six RBIs Powers Dragons Over Hiroshima 14-3

     Chunichi Dragons rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome had a career day Sunday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, as he unloaded his first ever grand slam and drove in six runs in an epic 5-6 night to help his team destroy the Hiroshima Carp 14-3. To add to the fun, he is also now making a run at Hideki Matsui in the CL batting race with a .339 average.

     Shigeki Noguchi made his second start of the season for the Dragons and while his breaking pitches still weren't moving as they did last season, when he won the ERA title, he did well enough to win despite being victimized for three solo homers. He was clocked at 87mph, so his velocity isn't back, either.

     Yasushi Tsuruta started for Hiroshima and was  done up for five runs in 3.2 innings to inflate his ERA to 6.12. Daisuke Sakai then came in for the fourth and had his clock cleaned for eight runs, all earned, on six hits and two walks without getting a single out in a 32 pitch farce.

     The Carp actually had a fleeting lead in the second, when third baseman Takahiro Arai conducted a version of the J. Geils Band's "Must of Got Lost" to the folks in the leftfield stands with his bat off of hanging slider to make it 1-0 Hiroshima.

     Dragons third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami, though, would overwhelm that with a flick of the stick. Shortstop Hirokazu Ibata leadoff with a single to right and second baseman Masahiro Araki xeroxed that. Fukudome carromed a screamer off the leftfield wall to exploit Ibata for the equalizer. Tatsunami then pummeled a curve ball into the rightfield seats to make it 4-1 Chunichi. That was his first hit in his last four games.

     In the fourth, Ibata roiled things again when he singled to right with two down and then Araki and Fukudome copycatted him, the latter knock pushing Ibata across, and it was 5-1 Dragons.

     Carp reliever Koji Hiroike, who had been drafted to finish the third for Tsuruta, faced centerfielder Takayuki Onishi to commence the fifth and walked him. He was then sent to the showers in favor of Sakai. Oops! Pinch hitter Hidenori Kuramoto walked. Catcher Motonobu Tanishige then bruised a pitch into the leftcenter gap to deliver Onishi. Noguchi singled to center to post Kuramoto and Ibata welcomed Tanishige in with a single to center. Araki walked to pack the sacks. Fukudome got a 2-0 fastball and slugged it into the leftcenterfield bleachers and it was ridiculous now at 12-1. Tatsunami beat out a tapper near the mound. Ancient first baseman Yasuaki Taiho then jacked it out to leftcenter to make it 14-1. Sakai was finally removed and Masato Kawano walked in and nailed Onishi in the back, the two advancing toward each other before Onishi jogged off for first. Kuramoto singled to left. But two strikeouts and a groundout later, this thorough hiding was finally over.

     First baseman Kojiro Machida leadoff the Hiroshima half by leaving to leftcenter, too. The fans out in that area then no doubt sent a message to George W. Bush asking about missile defense. The scoreboard quoth, 14-2.

     In the sixth, Carp leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto continued, much like Fukudome, to fatten his power numbers with a big surge the last two months, when he sailed one into the rightfield seats to make it 14-3.

     Sanity then set in and the Dragons had two hits in the last three innings while the Carp had one, as the game less ended than ground to a halt.

     With his three RBIs, Tatsunami now has 80, the first time a Japanese Dragons player has reached that figure since Takeshi Yamasaki in 1998.

     Fukudome's spectacular night enabled him to reach new personal bests for homers and RBIs.

     No foreign players batted in this game.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

S. Noguchi (W, 1-1)  IP 8.0 PC 107 H 4 HR 3 K 5 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 6.00
Yamai                          IP 1.0 PC   14 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.83

Hiroshima:

Tsuruta (L, 4-6)     IP 3.2 PC 83 H 8 HR 1 K 2 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 6.12
Hiroike                    IP 0.1 PC 22 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.57
D. Sakai                  IP 0.0 PC 32 H 6 HR 2 K 0 BB 2 R 8 ER 8 ERA 10.80
Kawano                 IP 2.0 PC 34 H 3 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.08
Amano                   IP 2.0 PC 28 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.86
Tomabechi            IP 1.0 PC   5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.85

E: Ibata, S. Maeda, S. Noguchi
2B: Fukudome, Tanishige
HR: Arai (23), Tatsunami (14), Fukudome (17), Taiho (4), Machida (4), Kanemoto (23)
RBI: Ibata, Fukudome 6, Tatsunami 3, Taiho 2, Tanishige, S. Noguchi, Kanemoto, Arai, Machida
HBP: K. Inoue (Tsuruta), Onishi (Kawano), Kurihara (S. Noguchi)
GIDP: Araki, K. Inoue, T. Maeda, T. Kimura, Higashide

Season Series: Chunichi 13, Hiroshima 14

Game Time: 3:22
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Kasahara (HP), Ino (1B), Watamari (2B), Mori (3B)

Ishii Says He Has No Fear After Accident

     See L.A. Times article at: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodrep15sep15.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dsports

Japanese Writer Gets Cy Young, Other Votes

     See Seattle Times story at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/134536005_horn15a.html

Brito, Ma Homers Pace Samsung Destruction of Hanhwa in KBO Action

     See Korea Times article at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200209/t2002091517444247110.htm

Nakayama Outduels Hurst in Taiwan Action

     See Taipei Times story at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/15/story/0000168201

Quotes of the Week

     They come from Larry Stone of the Seattle Times in his weekly power rankings:

Yankees: "Wells has to stop ordering the knuckle sandwich."
Seattle: "From refuse to lose to roll over before october."
Cubs: "Anna Kournikova will win a singles title before Cubs win a World Series."

     The complete article is at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/134535815_power15.html

Today in Japanese Baseball History

     This report is for September 15 and on that day in Japanese baseball history in 1958, Asahi Beer sold the first beer in a can in Japanese history. They were then sold at games at Korakuen Stadium, but due to the fact that the became missiles in the hands of unruly fans, the cans were supplanted by paper cups later on.

Kawanaka Sayonara Homer Locks Up Pennant for Yomiuri

     Yomiuri Giants infielder Mototsugu Kawanaka, even if his career ends tomorrow, has done something he'll be able to tell his grandchildren and anyone else who will listen about for decades to come Saturday when he came up to pinch hit for third baseman Daisuke Motoki in the bottom of the 11th at Tokyo Dome against Hanshin Tigers reliever Shinji Taninaka and blasted a shot into the rightfield seats for not only his first career homer, but to end the game. Understandbly, he jumped up in the air several times as he headed off to first base while the ball nestled into the sold out crowd for the 5-4 final. The Giants magic number to clinch the Central League flag is now just 11, but for all practical purposes it is really less than half of that since the Yakult Swallows would have to pull off an ungodly winning streak to overtake their crosstown rivals.

     Kimiyasu Kudoh started for the home team and threw another fine seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits to leave with a 4-3 lead, which was the blown by the erratic Hideki Okajima and thsu went into extra innings while the great veteran's effort went unrewarded.

     For Hanshin, Trey Moore started on the hill and didn't fare very well, giving up four runs, three earned, on five hits and is fortunate he wasn't saddled with his 12th loss.

     Moore had most of his problems in the first, when he got knocked around for three runs. Leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu leadoff by whistling a double down the rightfield line and shortstop Tomohiro Nioka walked. Catcher Shinnosuke Abe attempted to sacrifice. He got the ball down and Hanshin receiver Katsuhiko Yamada grabbed it and then fumbled it to load the bases. Centerfielder Hideki Matsui then collected his first RBIs in five games when he yanked a ball down the rightfield line for a two run double. One out later, Motoki grounded to short and the only play was to first to make it 3-0 Yomiuri.

     In the fourth, second baseman Toshihisa Nishi belted one into the leftcenterfield seats for his fifth homer and his first longball in 11 games and it was 4-0 Giants.

     Kudoh wasn't giving Hanshin any openings at all until the sixth, when third baseman Atsushi Kataoka clocked a one out single to right and rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama waylaid one of Kudoh's deliveries into the rightcenterfield stands to bring his nine within 4-2.

     It became a one run affair in the seventh, as leftfielder Taichiro Kamisaka commenced it with a double into the leftfield corner and then was sacrificed to third. Katsumi Hirosawa lifted a fly ball to right and Kamisaka tagged and hustled in to reduce the Giants lead to 4-3.

     Okajima came on for the eighth and, with one down, Kataoka got real gone to right to knot it at 4-4.

     The game got pretty sedate until the top of the 11th, when Kamisaka socked his second double, this one down the rightfield line, with two outs. However, Yamada struckout and that opportunity went down the drain.

     Kawanaka was dispatched to the plate to begin the home segment and Taninaka threw him a 1-0 slider, which he hung, and that was the ballgame.

     To accompany his RBIs, Matsui also walked in the third, his 100th of 2002, the third consecutive campaign in which he's transgressed the century mark in that department.

     Yomiuri Giants righthander Kazuya Tabata, who has pitched in the minors all season, has decided to call it a day after coming down with a shoulder problem. The 5'10" 175 pounder first came up with the Daiei Hawks in 1993 and was used sparingly before moving to Yakult in 1996, where he went into the rotation and posted a 12-12 record with a 3.51 ERA. The following season was his career year, as he won 15 and lost only five with a 2.96 ERA. However, injuries began to dog him and the Swallows let him go to Kintetsu in 2000 before he got into 29 games with the Giants in 2001. He is 33.

     Outfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi homered in a minor league rehab start, his first ever appearance at the lower level, and has appealed to Giants management to be moved up to the big club as soon as possible.

     The Tigers have indicated that they are courting Tokiwa University fireballer Tomoyuki Kubota, who can fire it up to the plate at 95mph using a Nomo-like windup. Kubota hasn't really indicated who he would like to be selected by in Japan's peculiar draft system.

     For Hanshin, first baseman George Arias was 1-5 with three strikeouts and is at .251. The ex-Angel is well over 100 whiffs on the season and is coming up empty just a little more than once every four plate appearances. Moore was 1-2 and is at .274.

Pitching Lines:

Hanshin:

Moore                     IP 5.0 PC 87 H 5 HR 1 K 1 BB 4 R 4 ER 3 ERA 3.35
Date                         IP 1.0 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.22
Yoshino                  IP 1.0 PC 20 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.95
Hansell                    IP 1.0 PC   9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.93
Taninaka (L, 5-7)   IP 2.0 PC 33 H 1 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.43

Yomiuri:

Kudo                          IP 7.0 PC 115 H 6 HR 1 K 8 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.84
Okajima                     IP 1.0 PC    17 H 1 HR 1 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.61
Almonte                    IP 1.0 PC    17 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.77
Y. Maeda (W, 3-3)   IP 2.0 PC    29 H 2 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.49

E: K. Yamada
SB: Etoh
2B: T. Shimizu, H. Matsui, Arias, Kamisaka 2
HR: Nishi (5), Hiyama (12), Kataoka (10), Kawanaka (1)
RBI: Kataoka, Hiyama 2, Hirosawa, H. Matsui 2, Motoki, Kawanaka, Nishi
SF: Hirosawa
HBP: Yoshinaga (Taninaka)
GIDP: H. Matsui

Season Series: Hanshin 8, Yomiuri 14 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:55
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Sasaki (HP), Manabe (1B), Kamimoto (2B), Tomoyori (3B)

Yoshimi Ends Yakult Season with Six Hitter

     In a confrontation between two Rookie of the Year candidates, Yokohama Bay Stars southpaw Yuji Yoshimi flummoxed Masanori Ishikawa and the Yakult Swallows on six hits and a run Saturday at Yokohama Stadium to all but cashier the birds' pennant chances 3-1. Ishikawa went six innings and was touched for three runs, two earned, on seven hits in six innings that just wasn't going to be good enough to win this one.

     In the second, Yakult third baseman Akinori Iwamura tripled into the rightcenter gap with one down, but catcher Atsuya Furuta grounded to third and Noriyuki Shiroishi fanned and the Swallows passed up a shot at drawing first blood.

     It remained scoreless until the sixth, when Yoshimi took things into his own hands and ignited a rally with a single to center and went to second on a sac bunt. Hitoshi Nakane doubled to left center to redeem him. Second baseman Hitoshi Taneda singled to left and somehow made it to second before leftfielder Takanori Suzuki singled to right to send both runners in for the 3-0 Stars lead.

     In the top of the seventh, Furuta went midieval on a Yoshimi offering and landed it in the leftfield bleachers to make it 3-1. That was the last hit that Yakult had, as Yoshimi put down the next eight in a row to pocket the W. This is also the first time a Yokohama pitcher has had back to back complete games with no walks since 1987, when Kazuhiko Endo, who went 14-7 with a 2.88 ERA that season, did it. Endo is now a pitching coach with the Stars.

     One interesting stat about Yoshimi is that his fellow members of the Stars pitching staff have handed out a CL worst 39 intentional walks, but none of those have been by him.

     Yokohama ace Daisuke Miura tossed six perfect innings in the minors rehabbing a his elbow.

     For Yakult, first baseman Roberto Petagine was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .322. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez was 0-4 with two strikeouts and an error and is at .297.

     For Yokohama, centerfielder Ernie Young was 0-1 with two walks and is at .178. Rightfielder Boi Rodrigues was 2-4 and is at .268.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

Masanori Ishikiwa (L, 9-8)IP 6.0 PC 92 H 7 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 3 ER 2 ERA 3.29
Kawabata                            IP 0.2 PC 18 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.21
H. Ishii                                 IP 1.1 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.67

Yokohama:

Yoshimi (W, 9-6)    IP 9.0 PC 127 H 6 HR 1 K 11 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.41

E: Ramirez
2B: Rodrigues 2, Nakane, T. Ishii
3B: Iwamura
HR: Furuta (8)
RBI: Furuta, Nakane, T. Suzuki 2
GIDP: T. Nakamura

Season Series: Yakult 15, Yokohama 9

Game Time: 2:52
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Kittaka (HP), Suginaga (1B), Tani (2B), Shikida (3B)

Nakamura Three Run Homer, Takamura Pitching Slows Seibu 4-0

     Kintetsu Buffaloes starter Hiroshi Takamura wove 7.2 shutout innings on six hits in a gutty 143 pitch performance and third baseman Norihiro Nakamura returned to the starting lineup after leaving yesterday's game with a bad wrist and put a whipping on a fastball for a three run homer in the third, as the Buffs put a temporary stop to the Seibu Lions inexorable march to the Pacific League title Saturday at Osaka Dome.

     Hsu Ming-chieh started for the Tokorozawa contingent and was tattooed for all four Kintetsu tallies in three innings for his sixth defeat. He is 1-3 with a 9.31 ERA against the Buffs this season.

     Seibu shortstop Kazuo Matsui leadoff the game by searing the ball over the head of Kintetsu centerfielder Naoyuki Omura and to the wall for a triple. However, they couldn't get him home and the Lions wouldn't even garner a hit off of Takamura again until the fifth.

     Kintetsu blew a bases loaded, two out opportunity in their half of the first and then saw Tatdatoki Maeda stranded at third after tripling to rightcenter with one out in the second.

     But they didn't misfire in the third, as second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi leadoff with a single to center and leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes singled to right. Nakamura then got a heater on the outer half of the plate and went with it, lashing it into the rightfield seats for a 3-0 Buffs advantage. He now has 34 homers on the year. One out later, first baseman Yuji Yoshioka, who has been hitting with some real authority the last several weeks, then flambed one into the leftfield bleachers and it was 4-0 Buffs.

     Seibu packed the basepaths on two walks and a single with two outs in the sixth, but Kazuhiro Wada flew out to center and Takamura's shutout was still intact.

     The then loaded them again in the seventh with two outs on three singles and Ozeki struckout to let that opportunity slip away.

     Takamura walked two in the eighth, so Kintetsu boss Masataka Nashida went to the pen for Akira Okamoto, who got third baseman Scott McClain to pop to short and that was the Lions last hurrah, as Akinori Otsuka entered in the ninth and blew away the first two men he saw and then popped Matsui up in a ten pitch masterpiece to put it in the books.

     Kintetsu has signed an agreement with the Shanghai Golden Eagles in the infant Chinese pro baseball league "to promote cultural and sports exchanges."

     For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 1-4 and is at .265.

     For Seibu, first baseman Alex Cabrera was 0-2 with two walks. He has reportedly already agreed to return to Saitama next season for more than $2 million plus incentives. McClain was 1-4 and is at .264.

Pitching Lines:

Seibu:

Hsu (L, 8-6)    IP 3.0 PC 78 H 7 HR 2 K 4 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.57
Uchizono       IP 3.0 PC 34 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.00
Hoashi           IP 2.0 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.43

Kintetsu:

Takamura (W, 8-7) IP 7.2 PC 143 H 6 HR 0 K 7 BB 5 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.04
A. Okamoto            IP 0.1 PC     1 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.79
A.N. Otsuka           IP 1.0 PC   10 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.39

2B: T.T. Maeda
3B: K. Matsui, T.T. Maeda
HR: Nakamura (34), Yoshioka (24)
RBI: Nakamura 3, Yoshioka
GIDP: Kawaguchi

Season Series: Seibu 14, Kintetsu 12

Game Time: 3:08
Attendance: 23,000
Umpires: Nakamura (HP), Nagami (1B), Yamamura (2B), Kawaguchi (3B)

Minchey, Bolick Hamper Daiei 3-2

     Two fourth inning walks plus a pair of doubles were all the Chiba Lotte Marines needed, as they used that formula for three runs and then left it up to Nate Minchey and three relievers to shoot the Daiei Hawks down Saturday at Fukuoka Dome 3-2. The 6'7" righty went 7.1 innings of two run ball on nine hits for his 12th win.

     Kazumi Saito had another very good outing for Daiei, twirling eight innings of three run ball for his first defeat of the year.

     Neither side had anything resembling a major threat until the top of the fourth, when Lotte went on a short home invasion spree. Rightfielder Kenji Morozumi leadoff with a walk and centerfielder Saburo Omura also waited out a "four ball." Both men advanced on a groundout to first. DH Frank Bolick then smacked a double down the rightfield line to plate two and leftfielder Derrick May then looped one near the leftfield line for a two bagger to recall Bolick and it was 3-0 Lotte. You can see a pic of Bolick's swing on his clutch knock at:
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/kiji/2002/09/15/20020915012338.jpg

     Lotte then frittered away a one out, man on third situation in the fifth.

     Daiei, however, had men on first and third with nobody out in the sixth, but that was followed by a foul out and rightfielder Yudai Deguchi bounced into a 5-4-3 double play to pull the curtain down on that scenario.

     The Hawks finally dented Minchey in the eighth, as shortstop Yusuke Torigoe singled with one away and pinch hitter Kazuyuki Takahashi singled to right. Pinch hitter Koji Bonishi then lined one down the third base line to drive in Torigoe. Lotte manager Koji Yamamoto resorted to the bullpen and Soichi Fujita was handed the ball. Leftfielder Pedro Valdez flied out to left and Takahashi crossed to make it 3-2. But Brian Sikorsky and Masahide Kobayashi blanketed the last four Hawks hitters and that was that.

     In an utterly shocking development, Daiei released starter Brady Raggio and closer Rodney Pedraza for what appears to be monetary reasons. Pedraza is popular with his teammates and a four time all star, so his being dropped is particularly surprising to the Hawks players. He had 21 saves while being hindered by hamstring problems and has vowed to return to Japan with someone next season. There shouldn't be any shortage of takers there.

     Raggio, a former Cardinal, went 23-17 in three seasons. He was still on an eight game suspension for bumping an umpire when he got the axe. In 2002, he was 6-5 with a 5.44 ERA. His career is likely over unless he goes to Korea or Taiwan.

     According to the Japan Times, Daiei had wanted to post second baseman Tadahito Iguchi to bolster the club's bottom line. Iguchi reportedly angrily told them where they could file that idea, as he is said to have no ambitions of going to MLB. The Hawks are on pace to draw more than 3 million fans again, so this may be symptomatic more of problems with the parent company, the floundering Daiei department store and supermarket chain

     For Lotte, Bolick was 1-4 with two RBIs and is at .208. May was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .263.

     For Daiei, Valdez was 1-3 with an RBI and is at .306.

Pitching Lines:

Lotte:

Minchey (W, 12-13)     IP 7.1 PC 122 H 9 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.98
S. Fujita                          IP 0.1 PC     3 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.72
Sikorsky                         IP 0.1 PC     2 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.90
M. Kobayashi (S, 29)   IP 1.0 PC     7 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.03

Daiei:

K. Saito (L, 3-1)      IP 8.0 PC 120 H 3 HR 0 K 6 BB 5 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.20
S. Yoshida              IP 1.0 PC   16 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.97

E: Hori
2B: Bolick, May, Masaumi Shimizu, M. Kawasaki, Bonishi
RBI: Bolick 2, May, Bonishi, P. Valdez
SF: P. Valdez
GIDP: Kokubo, Deguchi, Johjima

Season Series: Lotte 10, Daiei 16

Game Time: 2:58
Attendance: 46,000
Umpires: Maeda (HP), Tamba (1B), Higashi (2B), Iizuka (3B)

Tanaka Seven Hits Nippon Ham 4-1

     Taking advantage of every opportunity presented to them in the first four innings, the Orix Blue Wave scored a run in each of them to back an outstanding outing from Yuki Tanaka, who was bestowed with his fourth shiroboshi after going 8.1 innings of one run ball on seven hits.

     Taking the brunt of Orix' opportunism as well as being hurt by a bad play in the outfield was Fighters starter Chris Seelbach, who leveled his record at 7-7 after sticking it our for just 3.1 innings and permitting four runs, two earned, on five hits and four walks before Fighters headman Yasunori Oshima tapped Pat Flury, who fanned four of the five men he faced in a perfect 1.2 innings.

     Tanaka got himself in a jam in the first, when second baseman  Hiroshi Narahara singled to center with one out and, one out later, DH Sherman Obando and third baseman Yukio Tanaka both walked to load the bases. But leftfielder D.T. Cromer struckout and Nippon Ham wasn't heard from again until the fourth.

     Meanwhile, Orix went ahead in the same inning when second baseman Koichi Oshima walked to lead it off and went to second on a groundout. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani doubled into the leftfield corner to push Oshima in and make it 1-0.

     In the second, Orix rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi walked with one out and two batters later, third baseman Tatsuya Shindo cracked a single to right, where it got through rightfielder Katsuhiro Nishiura, and Katsuragi set the controls for the heart of the plate to make it 2-0.

     Seelbach created his own problems in the third, as Tani singled to center with one gone and moved into scoring position thanks to a walk to first baseman Scott Sheldon. One out later, leftfielder Manabu Satake guided one back up through the middle for an RBI single and it was now 3-0 Orix.

     Nippon Ham got back on the basepaths in the fourth when both Obando and Yukio Tanaka singled to left, but the next two hitters struckout and centerfielder Tatsuya Ide fouled out to quash that threat.

     As punishment for his misplay, Nishiura was pulled from the game and Yoshinori Ueda was put in his place. And that move lead to a fourth Orix run in the bottom of the fourth. With one away, Shindo walked. Oshima lofted a routine fly ball to right and Yoshinori Ueda geeked it, the fleet footed Shindo sprinting around the basepaths as the ball skipped away to make it 4-0 Orix. That's when Oshima went to the bullpen for Flury.

     In the eighth, Nippon Ham used an infield hit from pinch hitter Ken Tanaka, a one out walk to first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara and a two out walk to Yukio Tanaka to crowd the basepaths again, but Cromer flew out to center and Tanaka's shutout was still an ongoing proposition.

     Yuki Tanaka came out for the ninth and pinch hitter Nobuaki Arai singled to right and went to second on a groundout. Pinch hitter Takaya Hayashi beat out a roller toward short. Jun Hagiwara loped in to try his luck. Ken Tanaka popped out to short. Narahara singled to right and Arai toed the dish to make it 4-1. Ogasawara walked. Now Obando was up representing the tying run, but he whiffed and Orix had a victory in the bank.

      For Orix, Sheldon was 1-2 with two walks and is at .261.

     For Nippon Ham, Obando was 1-4 with a walk and is at .263. Cromer was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .253.

Pitching Lines:

Nippon Ham:

Seelbach (L, 7-7)  IP 3.1 PC 76 H 5 HR 0 K 3 BB 4 R 4 ER 2 ERA 3.77
Flury                      IP 1.2 PC 23 H 0 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
A. Shimizu            IP 1.0 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.05
Iba                         IP 1.0 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.89
Sakurai                 IP 1.0 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.80

Orix:

Yuki Tanaka (W, 4-1)  IP 8.1 PC 137 H 7 HR 0 K 7 BB 4 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.72
J. Hagiwara (S, 8)         IP 0.2 PC   13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.72

E: Nishiura, Y. Ueda
SB: Tani
2B: Tani
RBI: Narahara, Tani, Satake
GIDP: Goshima, Hidaka

Season Series: Nippon Ham 14, Orix 9 2 Ties

Game Time: 2:58
Attendance: 16,000
Umpires: Akimura (HP), Tachibana (1B), Kakigizono (2B), Shirai (3B)

Kazuyoshi Kimura Two Run Homer in Eighth a Winner for Hiroshima

     A two run homer in the bottom of the eighth by catcher Kazuyoshi Kimura broke at 4-4 tie and enabled the Hiroshima Carp to ultimately win it 6-5 against the Chunichi Dragons Saturday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium. Masayuki Hasegawa started for the fish and went all the way in spite of giving up five runs, all earned, on nine hits due to an inability to keep his breaking pitches down consistently for his 12th victory.

     Masahiro Yamamoto started for the Dragons and reverted to his early season form, as he was in for six innings and saw four opposition runners cross the plate on 11 hits.

     The Carp began on top in the bottom of the first when shortstop Akihiro Higashide and centerfielder Koichi Ogata both doubled to rightcenter with one out for a 1-0 lead. They then added on in the third, as third baseman Takahiro Arai got aboard on an error by shortstop Hirokazu Ibata and, one out later, Kazuyoshi Kimura singled to left. Hasegawa also singled to left and the bases were packed. Second baseman Takuya Kimura lined a double to leftcenter and Arai and Kimura wheeled on in to make it 3-0 Carp.

     The Dragons counterattacked in the third to even it when catcher Fumihiro Suzuki walked and was sacrificed to second. Ibata singled to right. Second baseman Masahiro Araki singled to center and plated Suzuki. Rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome grounded to Kojiro Machida at first, who threw to third for the force out. Third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami grounded to Takuya Kimura at second, who let the ball get by him, and Araki and Fukudome both came around to restore equilibrium at 3-3.

     But Hiroshima grabbed another lead in the seventh, when Arai snapped off a drive to the leftfield wall for a one out double and Machida walked. One out later, Hasegawa singled to right and Arai made the left turn for home for a 4-3 Carp advantage.

     Hasegawa wouldn't hold that, however, as with two outs, Araki singled to right and Fukudome rocketed a shot to the leftcenterfield wall for an RBI double and it was 4-4.

     In the eighth, backup first baseman Itsuki Asai walked with one down and Kimura fileted a pitch from reliever Masataka Endo and fed it to the folks into the leftfield bleachers to pull the Carp ahead 6-4.

     Chunichi came up for their last at bat in the ninth and pinch hitter Junichi Jinno clobbered a ball into the rightcenter alley to open the inning and eventually came around on two groundouts to close it to 6-5. Araki, though, grounded to second and it was "game setto." The Dragons have now lost three in a row.

     No foreign players batted in this game.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

M. Yamamoto         IP 6.0 PC 121 H 11 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.19
Iwase                       IP 1.0 PC   17 H   0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.05
Endo (L, 4-2 )         IP 1.0 PC    26 H   1 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.54

Hiroshima:

Hasegawa (W, 12-6)  IP 9.0 PC 133 H 9 HR 0 K 6 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 3.56

E: Ibata, T. Kimura
SB: Higashide
2B: Higashide, Ogata, T. Kimura, Kanemoto, Arai, Fukudome, Jinno
HR: K. Kimura (5)
RBI: Ibata, Araki, Fukudome, T. Kimura 2, Ogata, K. Kimura 2, Hasegawa
HBP: Onishi (Hasegawa), Higashide (Iwase)
GIDP: Ogata

Season Series: Chunichi 12, Hiroshima 14

Game Time: 3:30
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Nishimoto (HP), Watamari (1B), Mori (2B), Kasahara (3B)

Wada Strikes Out 16 Against Tokyo University in Fall Opener

     Waseda University southpaw Tsuyoshi Wada, who is most likely headed for the Daiei Hawks in this November's draft and has drawn interest from the Dodgers, needs to fan only 28 more to eclipse Yutaka Enatsu's Tokyo Big Six University League record of 443 whiffs after blowing away 16 more in a faceoff with Tokyo University Saturday in the fall season opener.

     Wada, 21, who was clocked at a high of 88mph but complemented that with sharp breaking balls, ended up with a 138 pitch complete game three hit shutout fafter no hitting Todai for the first seven innings to earn his 23rd win at one of Japan's elite private schools. He had at least one strikeout in every frame. The final was 16-0.

     In other University action, another highly touted hurler, Nagisa Arakaki, who was clocked at 94mph as a high schooler and is also likely headed to Fukuoka for his pro career, got into a game for Kyushu Community College against Kyushu Industrial College earlier today and struckout ten, nine of those in a row, in a five inning stint. He was clocked consistently at 92mph during his dominating outing.

Kaohsiung Does in Taichung 7-2 in Taiwan Pro Action

     See Taipei Times story at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/14/story/0000168065

Today in Japanese Baseball History

     This report is for September 14th and on that date  in Japanese baseball history in 1949, the Kintetsu Pearls (now known as the Buffaloes) baseball club was established.

     Also on that date in 1977, a record was established when five Yakult Swallows hitters homered in one inning in a game against the Taiyo Whales at Kawasaki Stadium.

September 13, 2002

Cabrera 51st Homer, Four RBIs Downs Kintetsu 7-3

     Seibu Lions first baseman Alex Cabrera belted a two run homer in the top of the ninth to piggyback on a similar shot with a man on by teammate Kazuo Matsui to pull away from the Kintetsu Buffaloes Friday at Osaka Dome. Cabrera drove in a total of four runs to back an outstanding four hit seven inning effort by starter Mitsutaka Goto, who picked up his seventh win.

     Hisashi Iwakuma started for Kintetsu and had held the Lions to three runs on eight hits in eight innings before nailing catcher Tsutomu Itoh with a pitch to open the ninth and he was pulled by manager Masataka Nashida. However, Seibu then went bombs away on two relievers and the two runs the Buffs posted in the bottom of the ninth proved to be too little, too late.

     The Lions seized a first inning advantage when Masahide Kaizuka ripped a two out double into the leftcenter alley and galloped home on a subsequent single to left on a slider on the outer half of the plate by Cabrera to make it 1-0.

     Kintetsu compensated for that with a tally of their own in the fourth, as shortstop Masahiro Abe singled to center with one down and was forced at second when DH Kenshi Kawaguchi rolled to Cabrera, who winged it over to Matsui. First baseman Yuji Yoshioka walked. Centerfielder Naoyuki Omura singled to right and Kawaguchi hustled in to knot it at 1-1.

     Cabrera then came back in the fifth to put the Lions ahead once again. Rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki singled to center, Kaizuka singled to left and Cabrera lined a slider up and away to the wall in right for a double to usher Ozeki in and give his side a 2-1 lead.

     In the eighth, Ozeki began another rally when he leadoff with a single to center and was sacrificed to second. Nashida ordered Cabrera intentionally walked (and who could blame him?), though this engendered a lot of booing from the Buffs home fans as well as Cabrera, who gave Nashida a piece of his mind as he trotted off to first. Kazuhiro Wada then finagled a freebie from Iwakuma to load them up and centerfielder Kazuhiko Miyaji flew out to right deep enough to permit Ozeki to tag and score and widen the Lions hegemony to 3-1.

     Seibu then flexed its muscles in the ninth to put it in the refrigerator. Itoh was nailed and Iwakuma was yanked in favor of Toyohiko Yoshida, who induced a flyout from second baseman Hiroyuki Takagi. Matsui was next and he went gorilla on a Yoshida offering and buried it in the leftfield seats to make it 5-1. Ozeki singled to right and Yoshida was relieved by Katsunari Yoshikawa, who, after Ozeki was thrown out trying
to steal, lured Hiroyuki Oshima into hitting a routine fly ball to Tuffy Rhodes in left. Unfortunately, Rhodes somehow dropped it to keep the inning alive. Cabrera then got a 1-1 forkball down but in the middle of the plate and he torqued it on a low line into the leftfield seats and the Lions were really in control at 7-1. Seibu the loaded the bases on two walks and a single, but Shogo Akada flew out to end the uprising.

     Koji Mitsui came on for Seibu in the ninth and he was promptly taken over the leftfield wall by pinch hitter Akihito Moritani. Yoshioka singled to left. Omura then creamed a double off the centerfield fence and Yoshioka managed to chug all the way around to bring Kintetsu within 7-3. Mitsui, however, shut it down from there, retiring the next three hitters to preseve the victory.

     Kintetsu slugging third baseman Norihiro Nakamura aggravated a wrist injury striking out in the second and was taken out before the fourth inning began.

     For Seibu,Cabrera was 3-4 with four RBIs and is at .335, to emerge on top of all three Triple Crown categories in the Pacific League. The longball was his 100th in 247 games, the second fastest pace in Japanese history to ex-Kintetsu outfielder Ralph Bryant. However, Cabrera is the first ever to attain that figure in just two seasons. Third baseman Scott McClain was 2-3 and is at .265.

     For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 1-4 with two strikeouts and an error and is at .265. The Buffs front office announced that the former Cub will return to the team next season for $3 million plus another $500,000 in incentives.

     In another announcement by the same ballclub, they are contemplating tearing down their former home, Fujiidera Stadium, which is used these days by their minor league affiliate.

Pitching Lines:

Seibu:

M. Goto (W, 7-1)  IP 7.0 PC 113 H 4 HR 0 K 8 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.66
S. Mori                   IP 1.0 PC   17 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.17
Mitsui                    IP 1.0 PC   20 H 3 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.03

Kintetsu:

Iwakuma (L, 7-5) IP 8.0 PC 129 H 8 HR 0 K 3 BB 3 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.41
T. Yoshida          IP 0.1 PC     9 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.55
Yoshikawa          IP 0.2 PC   30 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 2 R 2 ER 0 ERA 16.20

E: Rhodes
2B: Kaizuka, Cabrera, N. Omura 2
HR: K. Matsui (29), Cabrera (51), Moritani (1)
RBI: K. Matsui 2, Cabrera 4, Miyaji, Moritani, N. Omura 2
SF: Miyaji
IBB: Cabrera
HBP: T. Itoh (Iwakuma)

Season Series: Seibu 14, Kintetsu 11

Game Time: 3:40
Attendance: 18,000
Umpires: Yamamoto (HP), Kawaguchi (1B), Nagami (2B), Nakamura (3B)

Five Giants Homers Kill Tigers 10-3

     The Yomiuri Giants were down 3-1 after two innings, but then accumulated another nine runs in the next five innings to annihilate the Hanshin Tigers Friday at Tokyo Dome 10-3. Keiichi Yabu started for the losers in his first outing since suffering a rib sprain and was understandably not very sharp, as he was wasted for six runs on seven hits, four of those leaving the yard, in four innings to drop his record to 8-5.

     Hisanori Takahashi started for Yomiuri and matched a career high with his ninth win, going eight innings of three run ball on seven hits to scoop up the shiroboshi.

     Hanshin had a lead after just two men had been to the dish, as shortstop Yoshihiro Okihara went into the third deck in left on a Takahashi delivery to make it 1-0 Tigers.

     In the second, Hanshin second baseman Kentaro Sekimoto walked with one down and leftfielder Taichiro Kamisaka connected on a hanging slider and wacked it into the leftcenterfield seats for a 3-0 Tigers lead.

     Yomiuri first baseman Akira Etoh answered when he drove a Yabu pitch into the first row of the leftfield bleachers and it was 3-1 Tigers.

     Yabu plunked Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe to inaugurate the third and, two outs later, Etoh really mashed a hanging forkball, propelling it into the second deck in left to deadlock it at 3-3.

     Yabu got the first two outs of the fourth and then couldn't close the deal until he got hurt. Leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu then tied his 1998 lifetime high in homers when he exited to dead center. Shortsop Tomohiro Nioka singled to right. Abe mortared one into the rightfield seats and Yomiuri was up 6-3.

     In the fifth, Hanshin used an error to throw a deuce on the big board. With one down, Etoh squirted a fairly grounder to Atsushi Kataoka at third, who let it go through the wickets. Third baseman Kawanaka singled to center. Second baseman Toshihisa Nishi walked to load the bases. Takahashi grounded to Okihara, who flipped to home for the force. Shimizu singled to center and Kawanaka and Nishi scampered in to make it 8-3 Giants.

     An inning later, Nioka leadoff with a single to center and, one out later, centerfielder Hideki Matsui walked. Pinch hitter Daisuke Motoki singled to left and Nioka beat it for home and the Giants were looking down on Hanshin 9-3.

     Nioka then accounted for the final run of the match when he blasted his 22nd circuit clout to center in the seventh to make it 10-3. Hanshin managed just an infield hit over the final three frames in going quietly from there.

     Hanshin manager Senichi Hoshino benched Kataoka, whose season has been at least as big disaster as Jeff Cirillo's has been in Seattle, soon after his miscue and the quick tempered former Dragons manager is out of patience with the free agent signing's failure to produce.

     The defeat at the hands of the Giants assures that Yomiuri has won the season series for the 17th straight year. The Tigers are also a season worst six games under .500.

     For Hanshin, first baseman George Arias was 1-3 with a walk and is at .251.

     Also, see story on this game by Jim Allen of the Yomiuri Shimbun at:  http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020914wo51.htm

Pitching Lines:

Hanshin:

Yabu (L, 8-5)               IP 4.0 PC 87 H 7 HR 4 K 2 BB 2 R 6 ER 6 ERA 3.17
Date                             IP 0.1 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 2 ER 0 ERA 3.30
T.H. Hashimoto         IP 1.0 PC 24 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 21.60
Hansell                        IP 0.2 PC 14 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.45
Kanazawa                   IP 2.0 PC 42 H 1 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.12

Yomiuri:

H. Takahashi (W, 9-3)  IP 8.0 PC 133 H 7 HR 2 K 9 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.12
Almonte                         IP 1.0 PC   12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.86

E: Kataoka, Etoh
2B: K. Yamada, Sekimoto
HR: Okihara (2), Kamisaka (1), Etoh 2 (18), T. Shimizu (13), S. Abe (16), Nioka (22)
RBI: Okihara, Kamisaka 2, T. Shimizu 3, Nioka, S. Abe 2, Motoki, Etoh 3
HBP: S. Abe (Yabu), Kawanaka (Kanazawa)
GIDP: Sekimoto

Season Series: Hanshin 8, Yomiuri 13 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:30
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: T. Kobayashi (HP), Sasaki (1B), Tomoyori (2B), Kamimoto (3B)

Yakult Comeback Bid May be Over After 8-4 Defeat to Yokohama

     With a costly 8-4 defeat by the Yokohama Bay Stars Friday at Yokohama Stadium, the Yakult Swallows will now have to hope for a miracle in order to catch the frontrunning Giants. Despite the fact that after a couple of good initial starts, Futoshi Yamabe has stunk it up, Swallows manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu ran Yamabe out there again and he was lit up by the second worst offense in all of Japanese pro ball for four runs in 1.2 innings on six hits.

     Kuniyuki Taniguchi started for Yokohama and earned his first win 2002 with seven innings of two run ball.

     Yakult had the upper hand for, oh about ten minutes when they combined a leadoff single to left by centerfielder Mitsuru Manaka, a sac bunt, an HBP to rightfielder Atsunori Inaba, a walk to first baseman Roberto Petagine to load the bases, and a groundout from leftfielder Alex Ramirez for a 1-0 first inning lead.

     Yokohama quickly overturned that, though, as shortstop Takuro Ishii kicked off the home half with a single and was sacrificed to second. Second baseman Hitoshi Taneda then hit a Yamabe delivery right on the screws, depositing it in the leftfield seats to make it 2-1 Stars.

     The Stars added to that in the second when first baseman Hirofumi Ogawa leadoff with a single to left and one out later catcher Ryoji Aikawa singled to center. Both men were sacrificed along. Yamabe hit Ishii with a pitch to juice the bags. Third baseman Makoto Fukumoto singled to right and both Ogawa and Aikawa skated across for a 4-1 Yokohama edge.

     Inaba shrunk that deficit somewhat in the third when he cleaned and jerked a ball over the centerfield wall with two away to make it 4-2 Yokohama.

     Stars rightfielder Boi Rodrigues, though, imitated that when he dialed Ibaraki 6-5000 to dead center with two outs so that Yokohama could go back up by three at 5-2.

     In the fourth, Yokohama scored again when Ishii beat out a roller toward second with one gone, Fukumoto singled to left to send Ishii to third and Taneda grounded to third to get Ishii, who was running on contact, home and make it 6-2.

     And Yokohama continued to slowly dismantle the Swallows, as in the fifth, Ogawa singled to right and went to second on a groundout. Aikawa singled to left and Ogawa made the turn for home. Ramirez' peg was right on the nose, though, and Ogawa was out. That brought up Taniguchi, who also singled to left, and Aikawa crossed to enhance his team's lead to 7-2. Ramirez then threw another man out at the plate later in the inning to become the fourth outfielder in Japanese history to get two assists in a single stanza.

     The Stars then struck for another in the sixth, as Fukumoto singled to left with one out and went to second on a groundout. Leftfielder Takanori Suzuki singled to center to deliver Fukumoto and it was 8-2 Yokohama.

     Hideki Chiba came on to pitch the ninth for Yokohama and he walked Swallows catcher Atsuya Furuta. Backup shortstop Yoshiyuki Noguchi then dug in for his first pro at bat and homered to left to reduce the gap between the two squads to 8-4. Chiba, though, kept the next four batters on the infield (one of those was an infield hit) to seal it.

     For Yokohama, Rodrigues was 1-4 with an RBI and two strikeouts and is at .266. Centerfielder Ernie Young was 0-3 and is at .179.

     For Yakult, Petagine was 0-3 with a walk and is at .322. Ramirez was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .300.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

Yamabe (L, 4-3)     IP 1.2 PC 36 H 6 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 4 ER 4 ERA 6.06
Hanada                  IP 2.1 PC 46 H 4 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.40
H. Maeda              IP 2.0 PC 29 H 5 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.40
Newman                IP 1.0 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.72
S. Matsuda           IP 1.0 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.64

Yokohama:

Taniguchi (W, 1-4)    IP 7.0 PC 108 H 6 HR 1 K 4 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.23
R. Kawahara               IP 1.0 PC   15 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.68
Chiba                           IP 1.0 PC   23 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 9.00

HR: Taneda (5), Inaba (6), Rodrigues (16), Y. Noguchi (1)
RBI: Inaba, Ramirez, Y. Noguchi 2, Fukumoto 2, Taneda 3, T. Suzuki, Rodrigues,
Taniguchi
HBP: Inaba (Taniguchi), T. Ishii (Yamabe)
GIDP: Young, Manaka

Season Series: Yakult 15, Yokohama 8

Game Time: 3:05
Attendance: 13,000
Umpires: Watada (HP), Tani (1B), Shikida (2B), Kittaka (3B)

Ninth Inning Two Run Ide Homer Spells Victory for Fighters 3-2

     A two run homer in the top of the ninth by Nippon Ham centerfielder Tatsuya Ide off of Orix reliever Jun Higawara turned a 2-1 Blue Wave lead into a 3-2 defeat. Nippon Ham reliever Akio Shimizu was credited with his second victory while Hagiwara accepted his fourth loss.

     Tomonori Kitagawa started for Orix for the first time this season and was brilliant, stifling the Fighters on four hits over the course of 7.2 innings of one run ball while striking out four and walking one to be denied his first pro win.

     Hayato Nakamura opened on the hill for Nippon Ham and he permitted a dozen baserunners, but due to Orix' wan offense, he was penalized for just a pair of runs in his seven innings. All the safeties he coughed up were singles.

     Orix got the jump on Nippon Ham in the first when second baseman Koichi Oshima walked and went to third on a single to right by shortstop Makoto Shiozaki. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, but Oshima scored and it was 1-0 in the Kobe crew's favor.

     Nippon Ham squandered a men on second and third and one out opportunity in the second and then were dominated from that point forward, their lone tally coming on a big fly by DH Sherman Obando to straightaway center in the third that tied it at 1-1.

     Orix surged in front again in the sixth when Nakamura walked both Tani and DH Scott Sheldon and first baseman Yuji Goshima singled to right to dispatch the speedy Tani plateward to make it 2-1 Blue Wave.

     Orix loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, but Sheldon fanned to kill that chance.

     So on to the top of the ninth, when third baseman Yukio Tanaka outran a bleeder near the mound. Two outs later, Ide got a hold of a pitch from Hagiwara and slingshotted it into the leftfield bleachers for the "gyakuten two run" and a 3-2 Fighters advantage.

     Tateyama was assigned the closer role in this one by Nippon Ham boss Yasunori Oshima and he struckout three of the four men he faced to put it on ice.

     For Orix, Sheldon was 0-2 with two walks and a stolen base and is at .259.

     For Nippon Ham, Obando was 1-3 with a walk and an RBI and is at .263. Leftfielder D.T. Cromer was 0-4 and is at .256.

Pitching Lines:

Nippon Ham:

H. Nakamura              IP 7.0 PC 107 H 8 HR 0 K 5 BB 4 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.07
A. Shimizu (W, 2-4)  IP 1.0 PC   16 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.18
Tateyama (S, 3)         IP 1.0 PC   24 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.37

Orix:

Kitagawa                   IP 7.2 PC 107 H 4 HR 1 K 4 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.17
T. Yamamoto            IP 0.0 PC     8 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.08
J. Hagiwara (L, 2-4) IP 1.1 PC   26 H 2 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.75

2B: Ide
HR: Obando (25), Ide (13)
RBI: Obando, Ide 2, Goshima
GIDP: Tani

Season Series: Nippon Ham 14, Orix 8 2 Ties

Game Time: 3:11
Attendance: 11,000
Umpires: Hayashi (HP), Shirai (1B), Tachibana (2B), Akimura (3B)

Hiroshima Hammers Yamakita to Slay Dragons 7-5

     The Hiroshima Carp batting order pummeled Chunichi Dragons reliever Shigetoshi Yamakita for five runs in the sixth inning Friday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium to prevail 7-5. Kojiro Machida launched his 18th career pinch hit homer during that revolt, a three run jack that provided the margin of victory.

     Kenta Asakura started for the Dragons and was hit up for two runs on three hits in five innings before being pinch hit for during a two run sixth inning rally that gave Chunichi a shortlived 3-2 lead.

     Hiroki Kuroda started for Hiroshima and was gone after a mere two hitters, one of those reaching base. No indication as to why in the press reports in the national sports papers. He was replaced by Tetsuto Tomabechi, who tossed 4.2 innings of one unearned run ball to give his compatriots a chance to battle back, though Shigeo Tamaki was credited with the triumph.

     The Carp got together to put a pair across in the second, as rightfielder Tomonori Maeda beat out a bouncer toward short, third baseman Takahiro Arai singled to center and both moved up on a groundball. Catcher Kazuyoshi Kimura was intentionally walked to pack the sacks. Tomabechi singled to center and both Maeda and Arai scurried in to make it 2-0 Hiroshima.

     The Dragons halved that disadvantage in the fifth when Tomabechi plunked centerfielder Takayuki Onishi and, one out later, he was sacrificed to second. Shortstop Hirokazu Ibata singled to right and Onishi reported to make it 2-1 Carp.

     The party from Nagoya then pushed to the front in the sixth, as Onishi cracked a two out single to center. Pinch hitter Yasuaki Taiho walked and pinch hitter Junichi Jinno doubled off the rightfield fence, even the slow footed Taiho lumbering around the diamond to go ahead 3-2.

     Hiroshima, however, flattened Yamakita in the home portion. Centerfielder Koichi Ogata leadoff with a single to center and leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto walked. Both men advanced on a ground ball. Arai singled to left to convert Ogata and, one out later, Kimura singled to left for a 4-3 Carp lead. Machida was sent up to hit for Tamaki and he jackhammered a Yamakita offering well into the rightcenterfield seats and made it 7-3 Red Hell.

     The seventh passed fairly uneventfully, but in the eighth, Dragons leftfielder Kazuki Inoue walked off of reliever Kanei Kobayashi and Onishi parked his second homer of the year in the rightfield bleachers to contract the gap to 7-5 Carp. Taiho pinged a two bagger off the rightfield fence and was pinch run for by Hidenori Kuramoto. Pinch hitter Shogo Mori walked and now the tying run was on base. Hiroshima manager Koji Yamamoto dialed local for Daisuke Sakai, who needed just three pitches to induce a double play ball and a comebacker to suffocate the threat.

     Yasuhiro Oyamada then strode in for Hiroshima looking for his 28th save. The first two men got on thanks to an infield hit and a walk respectively. But he fanned Pinch hitter Koichi Sekikawa and tempted Inoue into grounding to third for a twin killing that ended the ballgame.

     Machida already owns the CL record for lifetime pinch jacks, but his 18th elevated him to third all time behind Yasuhiro Takai of the Hankyu Braves, who has the record with 27, and Yasunori Oshima of Nippon Ham.

     No foreign players batted in this game.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

Asakura                IP 5.0 PC 85 H 3 HR 0 K 7 BB 4 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.73
Yamakita (L, 1-4) IP 1.0 PC 26 H 4 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 4.35
Yamai                   IP 1.0 PC 18 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.87
Kito                      IP 1.0 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.76

Hiroshima:

Kuroda                    IP 0.1 PC   7 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.54
Tomabechi              IP 4.2 PC 81 H 2 HR 0 K 7 BB 4 R 1 ER 0 ERA 6.00
Tamaki (W, 5-1)     IP 1.0 PC 27 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.62
K. Kobayashi        IP 1.0 PC 38 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.74
D. Sakai                  IP 1.0 PC   3 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 8.10
Oyamada (S, 28)   IP 1.0 PC 21 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.89

E: K. Inoue
SB: Onishi, Araki, T. Kimura, Tomabechi
2B: Jinno, Taiho
RBI: Ibata, Onishi 2, Jinno 2, Arai, K. Kimura, Tomabechi 2, Machida 3
IBB: K. Kimura
HBP: Onishi (Tomabechi)
GIDP: Tatsunami, Hyodo, Ibata, K. Inoue

Season Series: Chunichi 12, Hiroshima 13

Game Time: 3:41
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Ino (HP), Mori (1B), Kasahara (2B), Nishimoto (3B)

Rating Some Japanese Players' MLB Potential

     See Acceleration Online article at:  http://www.accelerationonline.com/sports_edwards_090902b.htm

     One note, though: an editing glitch leftout the fact that the very past part of the penultimate paragraph leaves out the fact my comments were supposed to be about Hayato Terahara and not Daisuke Matsuzaka. But it's still a pretty good piece.

Yakult Ececutvr Imprisoned Over Financial Improprieties

     See Yomiuri Shimbun story at: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020913wo21.htm

Seung-yeop Lee Belts 41st Homer in Samsung Victory

     See Korea Times story at:  http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200209/t2002091318454347110.htm

Taiwan's First Lady to Visit Dodgers' Chen

     See Taipei Times story at:  http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/13/story/0000167947

Taipei Gets Closer to Playoffs in Taiwan Action

     See Taipei Times story at:  http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/13/story/0000167934

Today in Japanese Baseball History

     This report is for September 13 and on that date in 1977, the Chunichi Dragons beat the Yomiuri Giants at Korakuen Stadium to halt a 19 game losing streak the Dragons had suffered at that ballpark.
 

Cabrera Ninth Inning Homer Ties it and Then Seibu Wins in 12 7-6

     Seibu Lions first baseman Alex Cabrera tied up a faceoff with the Daiei Hawks Monday when he slammed a three run homer in the bottom of the ninth off of Shuji Yoshida at Seibu Dome. The Lions then got an RBI double from Tatsuya Ozeki with one out in the 12th to win it 7-6. The win reduces the Tokorozawa outfit's magic number to nine.

     Tetsuya Shiozaki started for Seibu and threw three solid innings before blowing up in the fourth and exiting after giving up six hits and inducing just one out during a six run revolt by the Hawks. He was ultimately charged with five earned runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings.

     Keisaburo Tanoue started for Daiei and was his usual mediocre self, permitting three runs in 5.2 innings on eight hits, needing to be rescued by Shinohara to avert real disaster.

     Lions shortstop Kazuo Matsui, in the midst of a 2-24 slump coming in to this game, began the bottom ot he first with a bang when he parked a Tanoue offering in the rightfield seats to make it 1-0 Seibu. That was his sixth first inning leadoff jack of the year.

     Seibu then pounced for another run in the second, as third baseman Scott McClain, finally back after a long injury rehab, walked and was forced out at second when catcher Tsutomu Itoh grounded to Tanoue. Second baseman Hiroyuki Takagi then grounded into a 6-4 force play and stole second. Matsui singled to center. Tatsuya Ozeki, as part of the first four hit day of his career, singled to left to get Takagi in and it was 2-0 Lions.

     Unfortunately for Seibu, though, the Hawks opened up with both barrels in the fourth and seized the upper hand. Pedro Valdez leadoff with a double down the leftfield line. Third baseman Hiroki Kokubo singled to left. First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka singled to right and Valdez reported with his team's inital tally. One out later, Noriyoshi Omichi singled to center and Kokubo galloped in to knot it at 2-2. Kawasaki doubled into the rightfield corner for the lead run. Shortstop Yusuke Torigoe singled to center and Omichi was back in the dugout. Shiozaki was removed in favor of Yoshitaka Mizuo. Arihito Muramatsu legged out a bleeder toward short to load the bases. Hiroshi Shibahara singled to right to redeem Kawasaki and Valdez did likewise to drive in Torigoe and it was 6-2 Hawks.

     Seibu got within striking range in the sixth when McClain singled to center with two down and Itoh doubled down the leftfield line. Takagi singled to left to plate McClain and Takayuki Shinohara was brought in to spell Tanoue. Matsui walked to pack the sacks. Ozeki, though, grounded out to end the inning.

     Not much happened until the bottom of the ninth, when Matsui cracked a one out double to left and went to third on a groundout. Tetsuya Kakiuchi walked. Cabrera went up hoping to get a mistake on the inner half of the plate and he had his prayers answered, as Yoshida threw a 1-1 slider down that got too much of the plate and the burly ex-Diamondback uncorked a bullet that travelled more than 450 feet into the centerfield seats for a game tying three run homer to make it 6-6.

     The Lions relief staff restrained the Hawks to one hit over the final eight innings. The club's offense then won it in the final at bat. With one down and Akira Matsumoto on the hill, Matsui walked. Seibu manager Haruki Ihara flashed the hit and run sign and Matsui lit out for second while Ozeki laced a screamer down the leftfield line, the very athletic infielder scoring without a play to bring the league title that much closer.

     Detroit Tigers official Al Avila was at the game watching Matsui and didn't say much to reporters due to tampering regulations, though he offered that the PL Gakuen grad, who finished 4-5 with two walks and an RBI on the night and is batting .318, had trememdous speed and was a first rate player.

     The Daiei loss assured that Seibu would win the season series between the two ballclubs. This makes it 21 years in a row that the Lions had taken the majority of the contests the two have engaged in. Anyone know if there is a comparable streak in MLB?

     For Daiei, Valdez wasa 3-4 with an RBI and is at .307.

     For Seibu. Cabrera was 2-5 with three RBIs and a walk and is at .334. JHe is now tied with Tuffy Rhodes for the Pacific League lead in RBIs with 104. McClain was 1-4 with two walks and is at .282.

Pitching Lines:

Daiei:

Tanoue                      IP 5.2 PC 92 H 8 HR 1 K 3 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.06
Shinohara                  IP 0.1 PC   6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.69
K. Okamoto               IP 2.0 PC 25 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.40
S. Yoshida                 IP 0.2 PC 27 H 3 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.02
Pedraza                      IP 1.0 PC 30 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.30
H.K. Watanabe        IP 0.1 PC   3 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.86
Matsumoto (L, 0-2)  IP 1.1 PC 31 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.09

Seibu:

T. Shiozaki            IP 3.1 PC 78 H 8 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 3.82
Mizuo                    IP 0.1 PC   6 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.06
Uchizono              IP 2.1 PC 28 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.86
Mitsui                    IP 2.0 PC 34 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.93
S. Mori                   IP 2.0 PC 31 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.20
Doi                         IP 1.0 PC 22 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.52
Toyoda (W, 6-1)  IP 1.0 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.93

SB: Wada, H. Takagi
2B: Ozeki 2, Muramatsu, Wada, P. Valdez 2, M. Kawasaki, T. Itoh, K. Matsui
HR: K. Matsui (28), Cabrera (49)
RBI: Shibahara, P. Valdez, Matsunaka, Omichi, M. Kawasaki, Torigoe, K. Matsui, Ozeki 2, Cabrera 3, H. Takagi,
IBB: McClain
GIDP: Omichi

Season Series: Daiei 7, Seibu 15

Game Time: 5:03
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Tachibana (HP), Sakaemura (1B), Akimura (2B), Fujimoto (3B)

Kanemura Shuts Out Kintetsu on Five Hits 4-0

     Nippon Ham Fighters southpaw Satoru Kanemura matched his career single season high in victories Monday, as he twirled a five hit shutout against the Kintetsu Buffaloes at Tokyo Dome for his first such complete game goose egg fest in three years.Fighters first baseman Michihiro Ogaswara also ended a 32 at bat homerless streak when he went midieval on a high fastball from Kintetsu starter Daisuke Miyamoto and hacked it over the rightcenterfield wall in the third for his 28th dinger of the season.

     Miyamoto has pretty decent stuff, but at just under 21 years old, he still has some command issues and that defect displayed itself in the second. Fighters leftfielder D.T. Cromer leadoff with a double down the rightfield line and third baseman Yukio Tanaka walked. Both runners were sacrificed along. But that really wasn't necessary, since Miyamoto also walked both catcher Toshihiro Noguchi and centerfielder Yutaka Nakamura to force in Cromer and make it 1-0 Nippon Ham. Miyamoto then collected himself and induced a couple of foul outs to keep himself and his team in the game.

     An inning later, though, Ogasawara swung from the heels and lined a bazooka shot into the seats and it was 2-0 Fighters.

     Miyamoto, who has been in the bullpen almost all of his two year career, then showed signs of fatigue in the sixth while being hurt by his defense, too. Tanaka put a whipping on one for a double that pierced the rightcenter gap. One out later, Noguchi walked. Nakamura lofted a fly ball to left and leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes clanked it to load the bases. Second baseman Ken Tanaka walked to force in Yukio Tanaka. Shortstop Hiroshi Narahara singled to left to send in Noguchi and it was 4-0. Kintetsu manager Masataka Nashida went to the pen for Shogo Yamamoto, who threw cold water on the keg of dynamite that is Ogasawara by getting him to ground into a 4-6-3 double play and keep it at 4-0.

     Kanemura had Kintetsu in the bag the whole game, as they had one very minor scoring threat in the third and then it was suffocation city from there, as no Kintetsu runner got past first base the final six innings.

     The Hanshin Tigers had been contemplating making an offer to Rhodes for next season, but the former Cub says he intends to stay with the Buffs for the foreseeable future. This is good news for a team that is both losing money and facing the loss of its star third baseman to either MLB or another Japanese club (with the big players being Hanshin and Yomiuri, who would dump Akira Etoh).

     For Nippon Ham, DH Sherman Obando was 0-4 and is at .268. Cromer was 1-4 and is at .260.

     For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 0-4 and is at .264.

Pitching Lines:

Kintetsu:

D. Miyamoto (L, 1-2)  IP 5.1 PC 105 H 5 HR 1 K 3 BB 8 R 4 ER 2 ERA 4.22
S. Yamamoto                IP 1.2 PC   11 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.51
Yoshikawa                    IP 1.0 PC   10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 27.00

Nippon Ham:

Kanemura (W, 9-3)     IP 9.0 PC 109 H 5 HR 0 K 7 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.82

E: Rhodes
2B: Cromer, Y. Tanaka
HR: M. Ogasawara (28)
RBI: Ken Tanaka, Narahara, M. Ogasawara, Y. Nakamura
GIDP: Isobe, Obando, M. Ogasawara

Season Series: Kintetsu 12, Nippon Ham 10

Game Time: 2:40
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Yanagida (HP), Hirabayashi (1B), Yamazaki (2B), Nakamura (3B)

Goshima Two Run Homer All Ogura Needs to Beat Lotte 2-0

     When you are a team in the lower part of the standings, often that is because you can't score runs. This game saw the two of the three worst offenses in Japanese baseball facing each other and the results were perhaps predictable, as Hisashi Ogura and the improved Shingo Ono battled each other to a near draw except for one little mistake that Ono made in the sixth that resulted in him being splattered with the kuroboshi, a slider that Orix first baseman Yuji Goshima beat the daylights out of and left in the rightfield seats with centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani standing on first for a 2-0 final score.

     The truth was that neither pitcher was that effective, as Ogura was mugged for ten hits in 7.1 innings and Ono for eight, meaning that both sides had ample opportunities to put crooked numbers on the board, but didn't. For example, Lotte had men on first and third with one down in the top of the first until DH Frank Bolick tapped to Koichi Oshima, who executed the twin killing.

     Lotte then had the first two hitters of the second aboard on singles to center, only to have that sputter on a fly out, a groundout, and a baserunning mistake.

     Lotte loaded the bases on three straight one out singles to left in the fourth, but the next two men popped out and grounded out to snuff that rally.

     In the fifth, Orix would be frustrated when they got an infield hit, a single to left and a double to to rightcenter and not have anyone score. The log doesn't indicate why, but you know you're going bad when THAT happens. I'm guessing that someone got thrown out tring to go to third, but who knows?

     Orix, though, did indeed finally get something going for a brief time when Tani singled to start the sixth and, one out later, Goshima crushed a liner out of the field of play, his sixth of the year and only the ninth of his eight year career. Moreover, he has three of those jacks in his last six games.

     Lotte went to sleep once Ogura was out of the game, as Toshihiro Kase and Jun Hagiwara combined for 1.2 innings of hitless baseball to secure the victory for Orix.

     One interesting feature of this one for you trivia buffs is that Goshima, who was drafted as a pitcher and then converted to an infielder, was the offesive hero while Hagiwara, who was drafted as an infielder but converted a couple of years ago into a pitcher, earned the save.

     For Lotte, Bolick was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .211. Leftfielder Derrick May was 2-4 and is at .258.

     For Orix, DH Scott Sheldon was 0-3 with a walk and is at .258.

Pitching Lines:

Lotte:

S. Ono (L, 2-7)     IP 8.0 PC 118 H 8 HR 1 K 4 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.89

Orix:

H. Ogura (W, 4-3) IP 7.1 PC 115 H 10 HR 0 K 6 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.35
Kase                       IP 0.1 PC     1 H  0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.52
J. Hagiwara (S, 7) IP 1.1 PC    13 H  0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.48

2B: S. Omura, Fukuura, Shindo 2
HR: Goshima (6)
RBI: Goshima 2
GIDP: Bolick

Season Series: Lotte 10, Orix 11

Game Time: 2:46
Attendance: 11,000
Umpires: Higashi (HP), Iizuka (1B), Hayashi (2B), Kakigizono (3B)

Cubs Hee-seop Choi Gets First MLB Hit, a 432 Foot Blast

     See Korea Times story at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200209/t2002090917200747110.htm

Two Davis Homers Gets Song 160th Win in KBO Action

     See Korea Times story at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200209/t2002090917270047110.htm

Taiwan Appeals to Keep Baseball in Olympics

     See Taipei Times story at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/09/story/0000167477

Today in Japanese Baseball History

     This report is for Septmeber 9th and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1973, Yakult pitcher Takeshi Yasuda extended his walkless streak to 81 innings, which is a record. Yasuda went 10-12 that season despite a stellar 2.02 ERA in 208.2 innings, striking out 107 and walking 25. His best year was in 1975, when he went 16-12 with four saves and a 2.73 ERA in a career high 243.2 innings. Lifetime, he was 93-80 with a 3.26 ERA in ten seasons.

Seven Run Yokohama Eighth Downs Hanshin 9-4

     Isn't it weird how pitchers can just fall apart all of a sudden? Take the Hanshin Tigers lefthander Trey Moore as an example. He was sailing along on the wings of two hitter for seven innings and then went to pieces in the eighth, as the Yokohama Bay Stars put a seven spot on the board to win it in a walk 9-4. George Arias homered twice for the losers.

     Yuji Yoshimi started for Yokohama and got the complete game win despite giving up four runs, all earned and all at the hands of Arias, on six hits. This was his first win in a month. Pic of Yoshimi at: http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200209/image/02090906yosimiOS053908_b.jpg

     Moore and Yoshimi battled to scoreless standstill until the fourth, when Hanshin rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama doubled to right and Arias lined a changeup just inside the leftfield foul pole to put the Tigers up 2-0.

     Moore had a no hitter until the sixth, when Yokohama came back to knot it. With one down, Yoshimi walked and shortstop Takuro Ishii singled to center. Moore then plunked pinch hitter Hitoshi Nakane to load the bases. Kazunori Tanaka came in to run for Nakane. One out later, leftfielder Takanori Suzuki clocked one into the rightcenter gap for a double and both Yoshimi and Ishii motored in to make it 2-2.

     Then in the eighth, Yokohama really took it to a tiring Moore as well as a much fresher Masashi Date. To be fair to Moore, Tigers manager Senichi Hoshino probably shouldn't have allowed the former Brave to come out for the eighth, but he did and it was goodbye ballgame. With one down, second baseman Hitoshi Taneda doubled down the leftfield line and Suzuki belted a shot into the rightcenterfield stands for a 4-2 Stars advantage. One out later, rightfielder Boi Rodrigues walked and stole second. Pinch hitter Takashi Manei doubled into the rightcenter alley and Rodrigues lumbered all the way around. Catcher Takeshi Nakamura grounded to shortstop Yoshihiro Okihara, who booted it. Yoshimi doubled to rightcenter to plate Manei and Hoshino finally came out and got Moore and put Date in his stead. Ishii singled to right to bring in Nakamura. Centerfielder Tanaka singled singled to center to redeem Yoshimi and Taneda did likewise to score Ishii and it was 9-2 Stars.

     Hanshin scored twice more in the ninth when Arias golfed a curve ball into the leftfield seats with third baseman Atsushi Kataoka at first on a single to center, but that was all they could muster and Kentaro Sekimoto struckout for the last out.

     Veteran Tigers pitcher Nobuyuki Hoshino announced that he was going to retire at the end of the season. Hoshino, a soft tossing winner of 176 career games, has had injury problems the last couple of seasons. Too, he also apparently has a circulatory condition that could inhibit any intentions of continuing his career.

     For Yokohama, Rodrigues was 0-4 with a walk and is at .263.

     For Hanshin, Arias was 2-4 with four RBIs and two strikeouts and is at .254. He has 26 homers and could become the first Hanshin hitter since Cecil Fielder in 1989 to slug 30 (Cecil had 38). Shinjo's 28 in 2000 were the most since Fielder went back to the states for a Tigers player.

Pitching Lines:

Yokohama:

Yoshimi (W, 8-6)   IP 9.0 PC 139 H 6 HR 2 K 11 BB 0 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.57

Hanshin:

Moore (L, 10-11)  IP 7.2 PC 132 H 6 HR 1 K 4 BB 4 R 8 ER 5 ERA 3.29
Date                       IP 0.1 PC   14 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.32
Kanazawa             IP 1.0 PC   17 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.10

E: Okihara, Sekimoto
SB: Manei, Rodrigues
2B: Hiyama, T. Suzuki, Okihara, Taneda, Manei, Yoshimi, Ogawa
HR: Arias 2 (26), T. Suzuki (9)
RBI: T. Ishii, K.N. Tanaka, Taneda, T. Suzuki 4, Manei, Yoshimi, Arias 4
WP: Kanazawa
HBP: Nakane (Moore)
GIDP: Rodrigues

Season Series: Yokohama 8, Hanshin 16 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:06
Attendance: 30,000
Umpires: Kasahara (HP), Ino (1B), Nemoto (2B), Kamimoto (3B)

11th Inning RBI Singles by Asai, Nomura Reduces Giants CL Lead to 6.5 Games

     RBI singles in the top of the 11th inning by Itsuki Asai and Kenjiro Nomura broke a 1-1 deadlock Sunday at Tokyo Dome to help the Hiroshima Carp knock another game off the lead the Yomiuri Giants enjoy in the Central League pennant race. Koji Uehara, hoping to pick up his 17th win, went ten innings of one run, 154 pitch baseball, striking out seven and walking three, only to not get a decision. Instead,. Junichi Kawahara absorbed his third defeat after pitching that fatefull 11th. Yomiuri has lost three in a row for the first time in three months.

     Masayuki Hasegawa held the Giants offense to five hits and a run over six innings and then handed it off to three relievers, who twirled five innings of two hit ball to maintain the tie until their offense could get organized.

     Hasegawa managed to slither out of a two out, men on second and third predicament in the first inning by getting Akira Etoh to foul out and then had two more on in the third before extricating himself out of that one.

     Hiroshima then gave Hasegawa a lead, though they made rather inefficient use of the three hits and a walk they amassed in it. Centerfielder Koichi Ogata leadoff with a double to rightcenter and, one out later, rightfielder Tomonori Maeda singled to center. First baseman Takahiro Arai doubled off the centerfield wall to push Ogata in and make it 1-0. Kenta Kurihara struckout. Catcher Kazuyoshi Kimura was intentionally walked to get to Hasegawa, who fanned to snuff a promising rally.

     The Giants then equalized it in their half when Daisuke Motoki leadoff with a single to left, stole second, and, two outs later, Uehara wacked a fastball off the leftfield wall to drive in Motoki and lock it up at 1-1.

     In the seventh, Hiroshima put a man on third on a double and a sacrifice with one out, but Uehara then lured two of the next three men into routine outs (the other was a walk) and that was that. They then had men on first and second with two outs in the ninth and couldn't deliver there, either, so it went into extra innings.

     Maeda leadoff the 11th with a single to center and Kazunori Okagami was dispatched to pinch run. Kawahara then made a bad pickoff throw and Okagami went to second on the error. One out later, Itsuki Asai was sent in to pinch hit after not having seen any action in six games and singled to right to plate Okagami. Asai moved to second on a groundout and Nomura singled to center to score him and it was 3-1 Carp. You can see a pic of Asai's swing on the hit at:  http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200209/image/02090904asaiKT100908_b.jpg

     Yasuhiro Oyamada was assigned the closing role and two groundouts and a strikeout he was finished and so was this game.

     No foreigners played in this one.

Pitching Lines:

Hiroshima:

Hasegawa                 IP 6.0 PC 94 H 5 HR 0 K 6 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.59
K. Kobayashi           IP 2.0 PC 27 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.24
Tamaki (W, 4-1)       IP 2.0 PC 25 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.40
Oyamada (S, 27)      IP 1.0 PC   7 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.95

Yomiuri:

Uehara                       IP 10.0 PC 154 H 7 HR 0 K 7 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.58
J. Kawahara (L, 4-3) IP 1.0 PC     25 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 1 ERA 2.51

E: K. Kimura, J. Kawahara
SB: Motoki
2B: H. Matsui, Kurihara 2, Ogata, Arai, Uehara
IBB: K. Kimura
HBP: S. Abe (K. Kobayashi), Ogata (Uehara)

Season Series: Hiroshima 11, Yomiuri 15 1 Tie

Game Time: 4:01
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Tomoyori (HP), Yoshimoto (1B), Fukatani (2B), T. Kobayashi (3B)

Ishikawa Six Hits Dragons and Yakult Now Making a Race of It

     Little rookie screwballer Masanori Ishikawa had the best outing of his so far brief career Sunday at Meiji Jingu Stadium for the Yakult Swallows, as he limited the Chunichi Dragons to one run on six hits in a complete game dazzler that rectified a big setback the previous evening against the Nagoya contingent. Third baseman Akinori Iwamura lead the way with this 20th homer and two RBIs while catcher Atsuya Furuta and backup rightfielder Atsunori Inaba also each drove in a pair to overwhelm Dragons starter Shigeki Noguchi, who was making his first appearance since going on the disabled list with an elbow ligamentt problem in the early part of the season.

     Iwamura put the Swallows in front to stay in the second when he followed a walk to leftfielder Alex Ramirez with a shot into the leftfield bleachers to make it 2-0.

     While Ishikawa was on the way to collecting 16 groundball outs, his teammates went back on the chain gang in the fourth when starting rightfielder Shinichi Sato leadoff with a single to center and was forced out at second on a groundball by first baseman Roberto Petagine. Ramirez singled to center and Iwamura walked to load the bases. That brought up Furuta, who rolled one between third and short and out into leftfield to cash in both Petagine and Ramirez. The gimpy future Hall of Fame inductee is now 8-9 when the bags are juiced this year. Second baseman Katsuyuki Dobashi grounded to short, but Ishikawa tapped a little groundball toward short that Hirokazu Ibata couldn't do anything with and Iwamura crossed to expand the Swallows margin to 5-0. That was Ishikawa's first pro RBI.

     In the sixth, the Dragons got their only run when rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome drilled a fastball off the rightcenterfield wall and the ball carromed somewhere they were not and he circled the bases for an inside the park homer to make it 5-1 Yakult.

     The Swallows then put it away in the eighth against reliever Eiji Ochiai, as Ramirez commenced the fusillade with a double into the rightcenter alley and, one out later, Furuta was intentionally walked to get to Dobashi, who made them pay for the insult with an RBI single to left. After Ishikawa flew out, centerfielder Tetsuya Iida singled to right to load the bases. Ochiai walked Noriyuki Shiroishi to force in a run. Inaba dug in and lashed a single to center to plate both Iida and Furuta and open a yawning 9-1 lead. Ishikawa then got three of the four men he saw in the ninth and it was hasta la vista.

     After the game, Chunichi coaches told reporters that Noguchi had nothing at all in this one, his velocity being down as well as the movement on his pitches being rather dull.

     On the other hand, Ishikawa is making a strong Rookie of the Year bid since he is 3-1 with a 2.54 ERA in seven starts since the beginning of August and has a total of nine victories, the most of any first year hurler thus far in 2002.

     For Yakult, Petagine was 0-4 and is at .327. Ramirez was 2-3 with a walk and three runs scored and is at .305.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

S. Noguchi (L, 0-1)  IP 4.0 PC 65 H 5 HR 1 K 1 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 11.25
Yamai                        IP 2.0 PC 38 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.91
Endo                         IP 1.0 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.20
Ochiai                       IP 1.0 PC 36 H 4 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.25

Yakult:

Masanori Ishikawa (W, 9-7)   IP 9.0 PC 102 H 6 HR 1 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.30

2B: M. Takahashi, Ramirez
HR: Iwamura (20), Fukudome (16)
RBI: Fukudome, Shiroishi, Inaba 2, Iwamura 2, Furuta 2, Dobashi, Masanori Ishikawa
IBB: Furuta
GIDP: Ibata

Season Series: Chunichi 9, Yakult 14 1 Tie

Game Time: 2:35
Attendance: 18,000
Umpires: Honda (HP), Watada (1B), Manabe (2B), Tani (3B)

Cabrera Slugs 48th in Seibu Victory Over Orix

     Seibu Lions first baseman Alex Cabrera is now just one away from matching last year's homer total, as he jacked out his 48th of the year Sunday at Seibu Dome to give his side a shortlived 4-3 lead against Koo Dae-sung and the Orix Blue Wave. Orix rallied to tie it, but then Lions third baseman Hiroshi Hirao got sawed completely off by Hidetaka Kawagoe in the eighth inning with the bases full and the ball fell in safely anyway for two runs and a 6-4 triumph.

     Orix went out to a 2-0 lead in the second when rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi singled to left with one away and leftfielder Ryota Aikawa guided one into the leftfield seats for his fifth homer of the season.

     Koo held that advantage until the fourth, when he walked DH Toshiaki Inubushi, Cabrera looped a double that probably should have been caught over the head of second baseman Koichi Oshima, and leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada then took the first pitch he saw in this at bat and rocketed it into the leftcenterfield seats to make it 3-2 Lions.

     Orix evened it 3-3 in the fifth, however, when Oshima drew a one out walk, went to second on a groundout and headed home on a single to right by centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani.

     Cabrera, though, worked the count to 3-2 leading off the sixth before mauling a sixth pitch changeup on the outer half of the plate and ripping a laser beam into the leftfield bleachers to make it 4-3 Seibu.

     Seibu put men on first and third with one out in the seventh, but catcher Tsutomu Itoh's liner was flagged down by Tatsuya Shindo at third, who stepped on the bag for a double play to keep things where they were.

     Orix then brought it back to equilibrium in the eighth, as centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani walked and stole second for his 30th theft of the year, the most for Orix since Ichiro swiped 39 in 1997. Tani moved to third on a groundout and then loped in on a single to right by first baseman Yuji Goshima to make it 4-4.

     Kawagoe was sent in to pitch the eighth and that turned out to be a bad move. Pinch hitter Taisei Takagi leadoff by outrunning a bouncer toward short. Cabrera walked. Both moved up on a groundout. Masahide Kaizuka was intentionally walked to set up a force at every base.